The Handmaid's Tale - 21 lessons for A Level, plus resources

Here are 21 lessons I’ve made covering Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale for Edexcel’s English Literature A Level spec. These lessons are also suitable for other exam boards covering the novel. They have been designed with Sixth-Formers in mind, but they may be able to be used in GCSE lessons with some adaptation and streamlining of the more advanced concepts covered.

Hopefully these lesson activities will provide a useful starting point for teachers taking their students through this novel. The final 5 lessons pertain to comparing The Handmaid’s Tale with Frankenstein: I have included these lessons in case that is the text other centres have paired The Handmaid’s Tale with, but obviously they could be adapted to accommodate a different comparison text. I’ve also included an essay planner template I’ve made for students.

I have not provided a written scheme of work on a separate document, but the titles of the Powerpoints and the activities on each one should make it clear how I have structured the content.